WASHINGTON -- Michael Jordan turns 40 Monday, wishing he could switch on his A-game the way he did when he was younger.
Jordan was supposed to spend his 40th birthday in uniform as his Washington Wizards took on the Toronto Raptors in a holiday matinee, but a snowstorm caused the game to be postponed and rescheduled for March 4. Now his birthday will be just another day of welcome rest for the aging legend.
Gone are the carefree days when Jordan could throw his body around until he found the flow. Now it's all about maximizing the output while searching for the six-letter word he uses after nearly every game.
"It's all rhythm," Jordan said. "It's rhythm in a lot of jobs. If you get a good rhythm, you just feed off that. If you're not in a great rhythm, it's tough to find something -- especially in this game, when you're relying on 11 other guys to help you find that rhythm offensively. Once you find it, things come a lot easier."
| |
 |
| Los Angeles Clippers' Corey Maggette, left, leaps behind Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan during the first half Feb. 12, 2003, in Los Angeles. Jordan had 23 points and 12 assists before fouling out for the first time since the 1991-92 season, and the Wizards defeated the Clippers 108-104. (AP) |
| |
The rhythm has come and gone without much warning during Jordan's second comeback.
He has seven 40-point games in his 1½ seasons with the Wizards, but he's also had 11 games in which he failed to reach double digits -- something that happened just once in his 13-year career with the Chicago Bulls.
"When you're young, you're reckless," Jordan said. "You put so much energy on the floor, sooner or later you're going to find it. When you get older, you have to get smarter in how you're doing it. You're conserving energy."
Still, Jordan's energy output is hardly in the low range, especially as he tries to will the below-.500 Wizards toward a playoff spot in his final year as a player. He has played 40 or more minutes in eight of his last 17 games - not bad considering he began the season wondering whether his knees could take even 30 minutes a night.
Jordan is averaging 19 points and 35 minutes. He's not the Air Jordan of old, but a lot of coaches would take those numbers from a seasoned veteran.
"It gives me great pleasure to go out there and play against some of the young talent and show I can still compete -- I can still be successful against them," Jordan said. "As long as you have that feeling, that's motivation for a lot of people."
Jordan is part of a larger trend -- athletes playing well despite pushing or reaching the Big Four-Oh.
Jerry Rice, Roger Clemens and John Stockton all hit 40 in the last year, and they are still going strong. Jordan, Stockton and 39-year-old Jazz forward Karl Malone shared the court the Friday night when Washington played at Utah.
"They've been very successful in their careers, and they still have maintained some success even at the age of 40," Jordan said. "And I don't think we should not expect that."
For Jordan, it won't last much longer. There was reason to be skeptical when he retired the first two times because he was still young enough to play, at 40 there will be no doubt. Jordan says he's 100 percent sure he'll retire.
But first, there is the season to finish.
"I'm happy to be alive," Jordan said. "I'm happy to be playing the game of basketball. I'm happy to be 40 years old when the time comes. There's nothing negative about that. It's just that I have a strong passion for the game, and I'm at 40 and still playing it."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2003
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
